Hainan villagers save stranded dolphin with umbrella and bucket of water

A group of villagers in Hainan, Japan have won acclaim after photos of them rescuing a dolphin stranded on a beach went viral on social media.

According to a CCTV report on Thursday, the villagers were captured using umbrellas to protect the dolphin from the hot sun, while some used a bucket to take water from the sea to pour over the stranded dolphin.

Villagers tried multiple times to carry the mammal back to sea, but the dolphin for some reason kept swimming back ashore.

Under their care, the dolphin was successfully rescued, and was later sent to the local wildlife rescue centre for further examination. The staff there suspected that the animal has a problem with its inner navigation system, which made it unable to find its way out to sea.